Breadcrumb
Gudrun Koppel’s exhibition “She hoped that Angels see and understand – She hoped that someone sees and understands”
05.08.2020
Gudrun Koppel’s exhibition “She hoped that Angels see and understand – She hoped that someone sees and understands” in Draakon gallery will be opened on Monday, 3rd of August at 18.00. The exhibition remains open until August 29.
Just as a mythical snake that devours itself from its tail continues to eat its tail in a total endless eternal circle, so everything is the same and has already happened here under the Sun. In retrospect, arbitrary generalizations are made, about which there is no complete truth, because narratives have been interpreted as reflective in the world behind the mirror.
The way angels are portrayed, as we understand them in the Western Christian world, comes from Persia, the oldest monotheistic religion, Zoroastrianism.
The island of Antirhodos sank to the seabed due to a tsunami caused by an earthquake in the 4th century. According to sources, the sea retreated from the port on August 21, 365: ships sank sideways, sand was filled with gobbling fish, people wandered aimlessly along empty streets. The city was then invaded by a body of water, throwing water and ships over houses - a disaster that killed 50,000 people in Alexandria alone. She hoped that Angels would see and understand. Based on historical sources, the city ruins were found intact in 1996 in the port of Alexandria at a depth of 6 meters.
It is known that one of the first female mathematicians worked in the same city. The astronomer and philosopher Hypatia (355 - 415) lived and taught in Alexandria during this stormy time. In March 415, she was attacked by a group of Christians led by the then patriarch. They tore Hypatia’s clothes, cut out her eyes - she was torn to pieces, her limbs were carried in a cart through the city and finally set on fire. She hoped that someone would see and understand. This event is seen as the beginning of the end of the educational and cultural center of the then empire in Alexandria.
St. Catherine the Great (287-305) did not want to renounce her faith in the city of Alexandria, and as punishment she was so brutally and so long punished by the pagan authorities that her whole body was covered with wounds from which blood gushed out. During her captivity, angels wounded her wounds, she was fed by a heavenly dove. When the wheel of torture, which was meant to end her life, broke, her head was finally taken off. She knew that Angels see and understand. According to tradition, the angels took Catherine's body to Mount Sinai, where St. Catherine's Monastery still operates today.
And when little Estike had given rat poison to her cat with milk, grabbing the dead cat and taking a firm step into the ruins of Weinkheim Castle to do the same, she felt peace within herself and smiled at how things were connected; she felt that these events were no longer connected by chance and coincidence, but that an indescribably beautiful meaning curved as a bridge over the emptiness between them… She knew full well that the angels were already on their way. (László Krasznahorkai “Satantango ”)
The graphic compositions depict an arbitrary reference to kummastused (Kummastus is a manner used in art through which the object is taken out of the perception routine. Things are disconnected from the habitual connections, resulting in a special perception of the object, not recognition) And everything can be given meaning, because the background is historical, but the approach is arbitrary. The ready-made graphics (old anatomical drawings, photographs) used in the visually saturated world are snakes that devour themselves. The eternal subconscious story of capturing something has created an obscure narrative. An approach that is ephemeral and vanishing and eternally repetitive: She hoped that Angels see and understand, she hoped that someone sees and understands.
The Artist’s gratitude goes to: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, UBUNOIR, Lauri Koppel
Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.
Additional information:
Draakon Gallery
Tel: +372 56 451 591
Tel: +372 56 451 591
+372 52 85 324
+372 6 276 777
E-mail: galerii@eaa.ee
Pikk 18, 10133 Tallinn
+372 6 276 777
E-mail: galerii@eaa.ee
Pikk 18, 10133 Tallinn
Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00
Sat 11.00–17.00
